The Korea Herald

[Travel bits] Round up of travel news from around the world

TravelMar 11, 2016

Seogwipo Yuchae Flower International Walking Festival　Seogwipo Yuchae (Canola) Flower International Walking Festival will take place at Jungmun Resort on Jejudo Island on March 19-20, at the northern park of the International Convention Center Jeju and the surrounding areas of the Seogwipo region. 　During the festival, participants will be able to enjoy the picturesque springtime views of Korea’s southernmost island by walking along the Seogwipo coastline and through seas of yellow canola flower
Asia Culture Center offers rich spring events

CultureMar 11, 2016

No more staying indoors, cowering from the cold. Spring is just around the corner and along with it comes various fun and vibrant cultural activities around the country.The Asia Culture Center (ACC), a state-run arts and concert venue in the southwestern city of Gwangju, is planning to hold various events in the coming month.Every Saturday from March 26 until April 30 the center will stage the "ACC Spring Festival" with a slew of dance and music performances, art shows and participatory events l
Han Kang on list for Man Booker International Prize

BooksMar 10, 2016

Novelist Han Kang, 46, has become the first Korean writer to be on the long list for the Man Booker International Prize.　　The prestigious award body announced Thursday on its website 13 contenders for the 2016 prize, including Han’s 2004 novel “The Vegetarian,” translated by Deborah Smith.　　“The Vegetarian” was published in the U.K. in January 2015 and in the U.S. last month to both critical and popular acclaim. 　Novelist Han Kang (Literature Translation Institute of Korea)　Nobel laureate Orhan
The science of conservation

CultureMar 10, 2016

The National Museum of Korea reveals behind-the-scenes work of cultural heritage conservation
Writer Han Kang is longlisted for 2016 Man Booker Int'l Prize

BooksMar 10, 2016

South Korean fiction writer Han Kang has been nominated for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, the first time for a Korean novelist.According to the announcement on the organizer's website Thursday, Han Kang's "The Vegetarian," translated by Deborah Smith, is among the 13 books contending for the 2016 prize.The longlisted candidates, picked from 155 authors from 12 countries, were selected by a panel of five judges who are renowned journalists and novelists. The annual contemporary fiction
Milwaukeeans‘ struggle to find affordable housing

BooksMar 10, 2016

“Evicted”　By Matthew Desmond　Crown (432 pages, $28)　For nearly a decade, Matthew Desmond has studied the relationship between eviction and poverty in a single American city: Milwaukee. The MacArthur Foundation awarded him a “genius” grant last year for his research, including the Milwaukee Area Renters Study he designed and supervised, which yielded this sobering conclusion: “Among Milwaukee renters, over 1 in 5 black women report having been evicted in their adult life, compared to 1 in 12 Hisp
Sarah Bakewell on Sartre, de Beauvoir and existential philosophy

BooksMar 10, 2016

“At the Existentialist Cafe”　By Sarah Bakewell　Other Press (439 pages, $25)　Here’s a startling thought. Consider what you are doing right now without realizing you’re doing it. For example, you are reading the English language written in the Roman alphabet, even though thousands of languages and writing systems have existed, and you would just as easily use one of them instead if you had been born in a different time or place. You are probably flipping pages of a newspaper or clicking through a
Pulling back the curtain on Paul Kagame’s Rwanda

BooksMar 10, 2016

“Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship”　By Anjan Sundaram　Doubleday Books (208 pages, $25.95)In the early 1990s, the world watched in horror as Hutus and Tutsis slaughtered each other in Rwanda. When it ended, Paul Kagame was heralded as one of the leaders of forces that ended the bloodshed.　As president since 2000, President Kagame has fooled much of the world into thinking his country is a happy democracy and has received tons of international funding because on the surface Rwanda shine
Publishing’s lack of diversity fails readers: author Rai

BooksMar 10, 2016

HONG KONG (AFP) -- As the film and music industries grapple with the fallout from the race controversy that dogged the Oscars and the Brit Awards, English author Bali Rai warns publishing too has a serious diversity issue.　The award-winning writer, who has Indian heritage but was born and grew up in Leicester, England, echoes critics of Hollywood and the Academy Awards when he suggests gatekeepers are only recognizing a narrow band of talent and ideas, which does not properly reflect society.　He
Korean works, writers to be featured at Paris Book Fair

BooksMar 10, 2016

Novels, children’s books, webtoons to be displayed at special hall, authors to speak on Korean literature
‘Renegade’ rule mom Heather Shumaker is back with new book

BooksMar 10, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- Homework? Ban it! Circle time? It’s not for every kindergartner. Forced sharing? How about letting a kid play with a toy until she’s done?　Those are just a few of the ideas that Heather Shumaker advocates as “renegade” in a new book, “It’s OK to Go Up the Slide,” an extension of her first parenting guide, “It’s OK Not to Share.”　Shumaker is the mom of two boys, ages 11 and 8, in Traverse City, Michigan. As a youngster, she was a student where her mother taught for 40 years in Co
Michelin Guide to publish Seoul edition in late 2016

Food&BeverageMar 10, 2016

The Michelin Guide, an international benchmark of good food, said Thursday it will publish a guide of restaurants and hotels in Seoul later this year to introduce the dynamic Korean culinary scene and talented chefs. The guidebook for Seoul 2017 will be Michelin's 27th edition globally and the fourth in Asia, following Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Michelin officials said the guide would highlight the dynamic culinary scene in the bustling capital city and boost food tourism in search of new c
First Korean cultural center opens in Middle East

CultureMar 10, 2016

South Korea will open a state-run facility for promoting Korean culture in Abu Dhabi Thursday, the first in the Middle East, the government said.The new Korean Cultural Center, which sits near Khalifa Park, the biggest park in Abu Dhabi, is also the 29th of its kind worldwide.It has sections providing a first-hand experience of traditional Korean culture and showcasing the Korean cultural industry. South Korea's government-designated "quality" cultural products and Halal food are displayed on th
Oyeyemi's original stories pay weird, wonderful homage to reading

BooksMar 10, 2016

“What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours: Stories”　 By Helen Oyeyemi　Riverheard Books (336 pages, $27)　Midway through the third and strongest of the nine stories in Helen Oyeyemi’s breathtakingly bold and original “What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours” -- unlike any short story collection I've read -- one meets a girl reading a book on a plane.　Because the plane is going “through a terrifyingly long tunnel of turbulence,” everyone else is “freaking out.”　Asked if she’d noticed “we might be about to crash,” the
St. Patrick's Day set to return to Seoul

Expat LivingMar 9, 2016

As the weather warms up, a little early spring greenery is set to grace D-Cube in Sindorim, Seoul.The Irish Association of Korea will be holding its annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival at the center’s outdoor amphitheater on March 19.“It’s a big festival aimed at spreading Irish culture throughout Korea,” said IAK public relations officer Oisin Feeney. Revelers attend the 2015 Irish Association of Korea St. Patrick’s Day Festival. (IAK)“We have a bunch of acts confirmed for the day and they will a